Dec. 29, 2012 -- NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, today dedicated a memorial to commemorate the Civil War ironclad, USS Monitor, and its crew.

Dec. 27, 2012 -- Busy shipping lanes off the California coast, including routes that cross three national marine sanctuaries, will be adjusted to protect endangered whales from ship strikes.

Dec. 21, 2012 -- NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary welcomes Quiescence Diving Services, Inc. of Key Largo as the newest participant in the sanctuary's Blue Star education and conservation program.

Dec. 20, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries announced today it will begin a public process to review the boundaries for its Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries off northern California.

Nov. 20, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has identified the remains of an early 20th century shipwreck in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to be those of the British steamship Hannah M. Bell.

Nov. 1, 2012 -- NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for two seats on its sanctuary advisory council. The council ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Nov. 1, 2012 -- NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for 11 seats on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Oct. 30, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has launched a new website that takes visitors on a virtual tour of North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Oct. 29, 2012 -- NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for two seats on its sanctuary advisory council representing commercial fishing and education.

Oct. 23, 2012 -- For 40 years, NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary System has preserved and protected some of the most spectacular and treasured resources in the world's oceans.

Oct. 23, 2012 -- Seventy years after it was scuttled off Los Angeles, Calif., government archaeologists have found the wrecked remains of a rare Pacific Coast schooner that was employed in the lumber trade during the early 1900s.

Oct. 19, 2012 -- Two Office of National Marine Sanctuary employees received awards at the 2012 National Ocean Service Diversity Day and Employee Recognition Award Ceremony this week at NOAA's headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.

Oct. 16, 2012 -- NOAA's Florida National Marine Sanctuary announced seven primary members and nine alternate members to serve new terms on its Sanctuary Advisory Council.

Oct. 11, 2012 -- The Sanctuary Ocean Count, the signature outreach project for NOAA's Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, was named the Take Pride in America Outstanding Federal Volunteer Program during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Sep. 19, 2012 -- Volunteer science divers with the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) are helping Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary unlock the mystery of an early 20th century shipwreck off Key Largo, Fla. Underwater surveys and research conducted this week will build upon past studies and bring maritime archaeologists a step closer to naming the wreckage.

Sep. 10, 2012 -- A team of archaeologists and technicians assembled by NOAA will begin today to create a three-dimensional sonar map to document the storm-exposed remains of the USS Hatteras, the only Union warship sunk in combat in the Gulf of Mexico during the Civil War.

Aug. 15, 2012 -- According to a NOAA-led paper published today in the journal Conservation Biology, high levels of background noise, mainly due to ships, have reduced the ability of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales to communicate with each other by about two-thirds.

July 25, 2012 -- Ron Armonath, a Sagamore Beach resident who helped organize a citizen science project that collects information about whale activities at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, was named National Volunteer of the Year by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation.

July 24, 2012 -- Scientists from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and partner agencies will depart Key West Thursday aboard the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to map fish spawning sites between Key West and the Dry Tortugas.

July 23, 2012 -- NOAA has requested that large ships slow down in the Santa Barbara Channel to reduce the threat of ship strikes on endangered blue, humpback and fin whales.

July 23, 2012 -- Officials from NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the city of Santa Cruz today celebrated the opening of the Sanctuary Exploration Center, a state-of-the-art facility full of interpretive and hands-on exhibits highlighting the sanctuary's extraordinary natural and cultural resources.

July 17, 2012 -- How climate change affects U.S. indigenous coastal cultures is the focus of the First Stewards symposium starting today at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. The coastal treaty tribes of Washington state - the Hoh, Makah, Quileute tribes and the Quinault Indian Nation - are hosting the event and collaborating with NOAA and other partners.

July 2, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has selected three graduate students as national recipients of the Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarships.

June 28, 2012 -- Revised aeronautical charts released today by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) include information on overflight regulations for NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary off the Southern California coast.

June 22, 2012 -- NOAA's Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for six primary members and eight alternates on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

June 22, 2012 -- NOAA officials today released a final management plan and environmental impact statement that guides future activities and outlines the addition of five marine areas at Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

June 15, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries celebrate one million volunteer hours.

June 11, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, in partnership with the Sportfishing Conservancy, has launched a free summer-long fishing and photo contest to encourage families and youth to experience America's great outdoors.

May 23, 2012 -- The Massachusetts Marine Educators (MME) and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary have announced the winners of the 2012 K-12 Marine Art Contest, selected from nearly 800 entries.

May 17, 2012 -- The wreck of the Lamartine, a 19th century schooner that hauled granite for construction of streets, sidewalks and buildings along the U.S. East Coast, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The wreck lies within NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts Bay.

May 5, 2012 -- NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for three seats on its advisory council representing the sport fishing, conservation and charter/commercial fishing communities.

May 4, 2012 -- Teachers, students, beachgoers, researchers and others can now view a wealth of information about central California marine life through a new iPhone and iPad application released by NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

April 27, 2012 -- A new rule prohibiting killing, injuring, touching or disturbing whale sharks and rays is part of the final management plan, regulations and environmental assessment for NOAA's Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, released by the agency today.

April 20, 2012 -- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary has announced the winners of the 2012 Humpback Whale Month Ocean Contest held during February and March.

April 17, 2012 -- NOAA today released a comprehensive draft management plan and environmental assessment for the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary for public review and comment.

April 16, 2012 -- With seabird breeding season underway, NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary urges coastal visitors, whether boaters and paddlers or small aircraft pilots, to avoid disturbing nesting seabirds.

April 12, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today announced it will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to consider possible expansion of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron.

March 21, 2012 -- David Wiley, research coordinator for NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, is featured in the new book, "Wildlife Heroes: 40 Leading Conservationists and the Animals They are Committed to Saving."

March 21, 2012 -- NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for five seats on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

March 18, 2012 -- NOAA's Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary advises San Francisco Bay Area boaters to watch out for and steer clear of whales.

March 17, 2012 -- The annual Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Currents Symposium - a free public event - will be held April 9, 2011, at California State University Monterey Bay. This year's theme is "Ripple Effects: The Far-Reaching Impacts of Local Ocean Research."

March 16, 2012 -- Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary will hold its annual Currents symposium on April 14 at California State University, Monterey Bay.

March 9, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has named Sean Morton as "Manager of the Year" for his dedicated leadership and visionary approach as superintendent of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

March 6, 2012 -- Nearly 150 years after 16 USS Monitor sailors died when their vessel sank in a New Year's Eve storm, NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has released forensic reconstructions of the faces of two crew members.

Feb. 22, 2012-- Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's new research vessel, R/V Koholā, was blessed today during a brief ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Station Maui.

Feb. 17, 2012 -- NOAA's Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for two seats on its advisory council representing sport diving and charter/commercial fishing.

Feb. 13, 2012 -- Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary announces the appointment of three new members to serve on its Sanctuary Advisory Council.

Jan. 30, 2012 -- NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today launched a new website highlighting the 150-year history of the USS Monitor on the anniversary of the ship's launch.